Genesee & Wyoming Inc. signs agreement to acquire Arizona Eastern Railway

Genesee & Wyoming Inc. has signed an agreement to acquire the Arizona Eastern Railway from Iowa Pacific Holdings, LLC, of Chicago, Ill., for $90.1 million. The acquisition is expected to be complete by the end of the third quarter of 2011. "The Arizona Eastern serves copper mining and smelting facilities and we are pleased to be investing in long-term rail infrastructure that will improve rail service and support the expansion of copper production in the region," said Jack Hellmann, president and CEO of GWI. AZER primarily provides rail service to Freeport-McMoRan's largest North American copper mine and its North American smelter, hauling copper concentrate, copper anode, copper rod and sulfuric acid. The company also serves other local customers, predominantly in the mineral, agricultural and forest product sectors. AZER has 45 employees and 10 locomotives and will be managed as part of GWI's newly created Mountain West Region. The Mountain West Region includes AZER, the Utah Railway and coal loading operations in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana and will be led by GWI Senior Vice President Andrew Chunko.